Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Short Interest Up 14.7% in March

Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 987,100 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 860,400 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 97,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KAI has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Kadant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th.

Kadant Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded down $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $290.60. 50,135 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 94,466. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.05. Kadant has a 1-year low of $183.19 and a 1-year high of $354.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $317.66 and its 200 day moving average is $278.53.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $238.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.54 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 12.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kadant will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This is a boost from Kadant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is 12.93%.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Kadant news, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacy D. Krause sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.00, for a total value of $228,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kadant

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KAI. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,849,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Kadant by 1,578.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 74,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,795,000 after acquiring an additional 69,766 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 1,608,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,399,000 after acquiring an additional 55,595 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Kadant by 521.4% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 60,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,960,000 after acquiring an additional 50,432 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Kadant by 137.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,618 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kadant

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.